If you would, please take your Bibles with me to the book of the Psalms. Today we'll be looking at Psalm 147. Psalm 147. And look there with me in the latter part of verse 15. Notice verse 15 reads, His word, God's word, runneth very swiftly. The latter part there in verse 15, we read there, His word, God's word, runneth very swiftly. And beloved, that's not our word, but rather that's God's word that runs swiftly. You see, beloved, He commands and it's done. He speaks and he brings it to pass. The word of the Lord runs swiftly. Indeed, the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing ascender of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. He's a discerner of the intents of the heart, the thoughts and the intents of the heart. That's Hebrews 4.12. The word of the Lord runs swiftly and it runs quickly deep into your heart in God's time, power, and purpose. You see, beloved, with the clean water, his word, he called you out of darkness into his glorious light. You see, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And by the word of truth, God delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. Now, when we speak of the word of the Lord, we're speaking of the written word and the incarnate word, God with us, God manifest in the flesh, the Lord Jesus Christ. And his word is quick and it's sharper than any two-edged sword, and by it, God operates upon our heart in power with God the Holy Spirit. And beloved, his operations upon our heart are always successful. You see, God cuts out that stony heart and puts in us a new heart of flesh, making us new creatures in Christ. Our Lord declares in John chapter 3, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born of water, the clean water of God's word, the clean water of the gospel of God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, except a man be born of water, And then he also says there, and of the power and operation of God's spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, well, it's just flesh. And that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. You see, we must be born again by the Word, by the clean water of the truth, and by the Spirit, by the power of God. Now this psalm, like Psalm 146, begins and ends with this familiar phrase. Notice the first verse, Praise ye the Lord, and then we read praise in the latter part of verse 7. It says there, singing unto the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praise upon the harp unto our God. And then the word is set forth again in verse 12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise thy God, O Zion. And in the last sentence there, verse 20, the concluding part of that verse, praise ye the Lord. Now this 19th book of the Word of God, the book of the Psalms, is full of praise unto the Lord our God. Hallelujah unto Jehovah, who is God our Savior, the eternal and living God. Lord, thou art God from everlasting to everlasting. And then notice in Psalm 148, verse 1, It says there, praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise ye him all his angels. Praise ye him all his hosts. Praise ye him sun and moon. Praise him all ye stars of light. Praise him ye heavens of heavens and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord for he commanded and they were created. And so let all creation sing praise unto the Lord for giving them life and providing for them. And so, beloved, how much more should we be singing his praises than the birds of the air? And that's what we read in Psalm 147, verse 1. Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing praises unto our God. That's the right thing to do, for it's pleasant, and praise unto the Lord is calmly. It's beautiful. That's what it is, it's beautiful. You see, beloved, it's our delight and pleasure to praise the Lord, to sing praises unto our good and ready to forgive God. For truly it is pleasant to praise and worship the Lord our God, and it's proper, it's comely to honor, exalt, and worship the Lord our God. It's a delightful thing for us to do, who believes it not? For he is precious, and it's right, and it's comely to worship our great King, the Prince of Peace. That is, it's beautiful and delightful to give all the glory to God alone for the salvation of our soul. For by God's grace, we know that salvation is not of man, But rather, ever so blessedly, we know that salvation is of the Lord. And to all those who believe, we own and attribute everything to the free favor of God's grace. Indeed, we owe everything to Him, do we not? And beloved, all we are, all we have, all we know, and all we ever will be is because He has loved us with an everlasting love. And beloved, because God has loved us, He washes us from our sins in His own blood. so that now and evermore we can say with the Apostle Paul, by the grace of God I am what I am, by his grace which was bestowed upon me, a sinner. And beloved, we praise him now, but so too we'll do that forever and ever. You see, today is the day of salvation, but we'll praise him forever and ever and sing unto him that he alone is worthy to receive all honor, all glory, and all blessings. Beloved, by his grace, will be among those 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. And what are they doing even now? They're singing praises unto our God, who is worthy to receive all honor, all glory, all power, and all blessing, both now and forever. Look at verse two, Psalm 147, verse two. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. Now we see two things here. Who builds up Jerusalem? Who builds up the church of God? You see, this word Jerusalem is emblematic of the heavenly Jerusalem, the spiritual Jerusalem, the spiritual Israel of God, and it is the Lord that doth build his people, his church. Remember what the Lord said to Peter in Matthew chapter 16? We read there in Matthew's gospel chapter 16, our Lord puts this question to the disciples. And in Matthew chapter 16, there in the latter part of verse 15, well just verse 15, we'll read the verse. Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Lord Jesus answered and said unto Peter, Blessed art thou, Simon Barhona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock Upon this confession, thou art the Christ, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." And why is that, beloved? Because the Lord will and shall build up his church. And you know what he does? He lays a foundation rock. And that rock, that tried foundation, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. Every sinner that believeth on him shall not be put out or be ashamed. No, never. Remember what our Lord and God said? How precious is this fact? All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. And beloved, never forget it, Christ is the rock of ages, the foundation stone, and he's tried and precious to the Father and his people. And so the Lord does build us up upon that foundation, that rock, that thou, O Lord, art the Christ of God. See, he's the one that the Father sent into the world to save sinners. If you're a sinner this morning in this auditorium, and God blesses his word with his spirit and power. That will make you happy. That will make you glad. That will cause you to rejoice in ways that are just unspeakable. Christ Jesus came into the world to save you, sinner. He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You know, some people who are religious, they like to twist this portion I just quoted to you from Matthew 16, and they want to say Peter is the one upon whom Christ will build his church, which is just nonsense, utter and complete nonsense. He said, Who say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. You're the Savior sent into the world to save sinners. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barhona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. The Lord teaches us in another place. In John chapter 6, verse 45, he says there, as it is written in the prophets, it's the door locked. Yeah, John chapter 6. How wonderful. I'll read it to you. see if we're going to believe this revelation must be from above. We must be born again. And in John chapter 6 verse 45 it says there, it is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. I pray the Lord be pleased to do that this morning. that the Father would teach you and reveal to you that this man named Jesus Christ truly is the only Savior for sinners. And if you hear His voice, you'll come to Him. Remember what He said? He said, My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And so, beloved, never forget it. Christ is the rock of ages, the foundation stone, and He's tried and precious to the Father and to His people. And because, beloved, we're lost sheep, because we've gone astray, the Lord Jesus Christ, he finds us and he gathers us together. You see, beloved, we're lost. We were going astray and he came and sought us out. That's right. We were lost. We were going astray and he came and sought us out. He gathered us together with himself. Between the Sunday class and the main service, the man, we get together and we read a portion of scripture. And how often it is that that scripture is so befitting the message. Look what it says in Isaiah chapter 65. What good news for Gentiles is contained in this beginning portion of Isaiah chapter 65. I trust you can see yourself in these verses, beloved. I know I sure can. I am sought of them that ask not for me. I am found of them that sought me not. I said, behold me, behold me, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I said, behold me unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not good after their own thoughts. And the Lord God in power, in mighty saving power, he reveals himself to us through the preaching of the gospel. You see, we were lost. We were going astray and he came and sought us out and he gathered us together with himself. For Christ once suffered for sins, once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. You see, Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man, and he brings us to God. And he said, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. The lost sheep are found by the Lord, and beloved, we hear his voice for the preaching of the gospel, and we do follow him. And he gathers us and he builds us up upon the one foundation, and that one foundation he gathers us to rest upon is Christ. And we are the outcasts, are we not? We are the outcasts. before he saved us, that's what we were, the outcast. We read in Ephesians chapter 2, at that time, beloved, at that time, when we were lost, we were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now, beloved, right now, in Christ Jesus, we who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the precious blood of Christ. You see, because of that blood, no sin of ours hinders God from gathering us together. And because of the precious doing and dying of God's Son, God has delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. And the Father gathers us together upon that foundation that He has laid for us, and He gathers us together under His Son, the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the blood of the everlasting covenant of His grace. Now look what it says in verse 3. Psalm 148, verse 3. It says there, He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Psalm 147, verse 3. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. Now who needs healing? Who needs healing? Sick people need healing, do they not? And beloved, he's our great and good physician, the wise physician who's never lost a patient, not one time. You see, He heals everyone that is broken-hearted, and then He binds up their wounds. And that's good news, is it not? He gathers us and that to heal us, for He's our Great Physician. And one of the seven names of Jehovah is Jehovah Rapha. Jehovah Rapha. He said, I'm the Lord that healeth thee and beloved with his stripes. Isaiah reports, we are healed. When the Lord was in his hometown, he stood in the synagogue and he read from Isaiah chapter 61. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And Luke records, what a moment, Luke records in history. And the Lord Jesus Christ closed the book And he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fashioned on God's Son. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Now, that's just as remarkable as that moment. You remember in John chapter 5, there were some Pharisees before him. And he rebuked them sharply. He said, you do not have God's word abiding in you. And you've neither seen his shape or heard his voice. He rebuked them sharply. He said, you search the scriptures because in the scriptures you think you have eternal life. You know, that kind of message that says, here's a three point message on how you can be a better fill in the blank, whatever. You know, they were making the word of God into a manual for living. And he rebuked them sharply, and he said, The Scriptures are they which testify of me, and you will not come to me that you might have life. But beloved, we come to Him because of His grace. We come to Him because of His power. He doesn't leave us with a choice or a decision to make. We were looking at this this morning in our Sunday class, how that salvation is not a proposition that God says before man to either accept or reject. No, He puts us in the light and the countenance of His well-pleasing Son. And in the light of Christ, He shows us from the top of our head to the bottom of our feet. are desperate, never-ending need of His blood and His righteousness. He keeps us exactly where He needs to keep us, and that's in the dust, knowing that we're a great sinner. Nevertheless, He continues to show us over and over again in mercy that His Son, Jesus Christ, is a great Savior, mighty to save, who saves not almost, but saves to the uttermost. He heals the broken-hearted, beloved. Indeed, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. And the Lord binds up our wounds, because He was wounded for our transgressions, and with His stripes we're healed." Now, verse 4 tells us something about the greatness of our God. For He telleth, verse 4, Psalm 147, For he telleth, that is, he knows, he counts the number of the stars, and he calleth them all by their names. Now, while it's true that astronomers, both in our day and down through the centuries, they have named certain stars and certain constellations, but the Lord created all the billions and trillions of stars. He created all of them by the word of his power, and he knows intimately the name of each and every one of them. Just think of it, beloved. of how infinite space is, and yet the God who created all things, the God who inhabits eternity, that he telleth the number of the stars. Just think of it, of just how infinite, everlasting, and mighty the true and living God is. And the Lord has a perfect knowledge of all that he's created, all the stars of heaven. He both knows and owns them because he created them. And likewise, the believer in Christ, Though there are 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands of the elect, 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands and thousands of the redeemed by His grace, yet the Lord is intimately acquainted with all of them and He calls them because He knows them. You see, beloved, the foundation of God standeth sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His. How long has the Lord known your name? He said to Jeremiah, our brother, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations, and that because I said so. You see, the Lord thy God has intimate knowledge of all the universe, and so too of his people. And he knows us through and through, and he is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. For neither is there any creature that does not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened under the eyes of him with whom we have to do. You see, my friend, we're an open book before our God, and He knows all things. He knows the very intentions of our heart. Look at verse 5. Great is our Lord, and of great power. His understanding is infinite. There's no limit to His understanding. His wisdom is infinite wisdom. His power is infinite power. And we read in Psalm 145, verse 3, Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. In Romans 11, verse 33, Paul writes, Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. And so just how great is our God? Beloved, He's great in every way. He's great in His person. He's great in His salvation. He's great in all of His works. And we read here, His power is great. You see, he must have great power to save great sinners because that's what it takes to save a sinner wretch like you and a sinner wretch like me. And my friend, how shall we escape? How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Aren't you glad he's a great God who has all power and that he's able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever live it to make intercession for them? You see, the Father has given His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, all power as our mediator. Indeed, the Father has given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given to Him. And He has all power in heaven and earth. And we looked at this in the Sunday class. Let's look at it again in Matthew chapter 28. It says there, in verse 17. And this is speaking about our risen Lord and God, Jesus Christ, our risen Savior. And when they saw Him, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. Verse 18. And the Lord Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Therefore, go, Go, because I have all power, because I am the Lord thy God. And teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Amen. Remember what Pilate said to him? In effect, he said, I have power to crucify you, and I have power to let you go. And the Lord corrected old Pilate, and he said to him, thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. And in another place, the Lord said, ye are from beneath, I am from above. Ye are of this world, I am not of this world. In effect, our Lord told Pilate, you don't have any power over me except that which I have given to you. And in another place, our Lord said, no man has power to take my life from me. No man has power to take my life from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I receive power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. And so, my friend, His understanding, His wisdom, His power is infinite beyond our comprehension. You see, we're finite. And He's the infinite and glorious God Almighty. And really, the only place a sinner will worship truly, and really worship, is at the throne of the God that reigns and rules over all. Look what He says in verse 6, back in Psalm 147. Because he is our great Lord, because he has great power, because he has infinite wisdom, the Lord lifteth up the meek. The Lord lifteth up the meek, but he casteth the wicked down to the ground. My friend, be forewarned. Fear God. which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear God." Fear God. Now, who are these whom the Lord is lifting up? Who are these spoken of in our portion who the Lord lifts up? Well, the Lord, he raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory. You see, when the meek, those who are humbled by His grace, when they are convicted by God the Holy Spirit, they're laid in the dust, and He lifts them up. But when the wicked are exalted in their pride, He hurls them down to the ground, and the Lord does all these things. Turn to Psalm 138, if you would. Psalm 138, and look there with me in verse 6. Though the Lord be high, yet he hath respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knoweth far off. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever. Forsake not the works of thine own hands. And he said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. You see, the way up is not up, but rather the way up is down. And the way to be filled is to be empty. The way to be clothed is to be stripped. My friend, God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And beloved, he humbles and empties us, and then he fills and blesses us. And we call that Holy Spirit conviction. When God convicts us and shows us that we're sinners, and then he teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior of sinners. And in verse one of Psalm 147, and verse seven, verse 12, and verse 20, we read the chorus of this psalm, singing with thanksgiving and praise unto our God. And beloved, we cannot give him too much glory, nor thank him too much, nor think too highly of him, or for that matter, we can't think too lowly of ourselves. You see, that's our problem. Our problem by nature is we think too highly of ourselves, and by nature we think too low of God. Our Lord said, though, this is Psalm 50, You can turn there if you like. I'll just quote it to you. Psalm 50 and verse 21. Our Lord said, and this is in the latter part of this verse. Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such and one as thyself. But here's the thing, God is not like us at all. For He is the great infinite God above all. You see, we should think of ourselves as the scriptures describe us. We should think of ourselves as the scriptures describe us. Indeed, He makes us to know that that is so. How does He describe us? how that man at his best state is altogether vanity. That's me. That's you, beloved. Outside of Christ, that's everyone outside of Christ. Just vanity. Man at his best state is altogether vanity. Look what it says in Isaiah. Chapter 64. If we could edit our life and pick our very best deed and set that before the true and living God and make that the basis of our acceptance before Him, He would say, away with it. It's a filthy rag. This is why, as sinners, we're looking to the Lord Jesus Christ for not some of our salvation, but all of our salvation. All of our pardon for our transgressions of our many, many sins against God. and all of our perfection. That is, we don't have any righteousness of our own. The psalmist says in Psalm 71 verse 16 that he will make mention of God's righteousness of his alone. How come? Because his righteousness is the only righteousness that exists. And it says here, we are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we do all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And so the only hope for a sinner like you and a sinner like me is to look and live, to look to the Lord Jesus Christ for all of the pardon of your sins through His precious blood and all of His righteousness as your acceptance before the Father. The scripture said four plainly, none righteous, no, not one. Paul said, chief of sinners. That's what I meant, that's what I am. Oh, wretched man that I am, Paul said. And we say it with him. In my flesh, no good thing dwells. And that's thinking right thoughts of who we are, beloved. Good people go to hell, and bad people, evil people, are taught of God to trust Christ for for all their salvation, not some of it, and they go to heaven through the merits of God's well-pleasing Son. Notice in verse 8, verse 8, He describes the great power of our God, who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains, and he giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. God covereth the heaven with clouds, rain, and lightning. And God asks Job, canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, here we are? My friend, lightnings are only at the command of God. Remember what the disciples saw the Lord when they saw him still, the wind of the seas? They said, what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? You see, he is the God-man who covers the heaven. He creates it and he creates all the elements and he covers the heavens with clouds. And the book of Nahum sets forth, the clouds are the dust of his feet. Just think of it, beloved. of how God creates all things by the word of His power, of how He upholds all things by the word of His power. He prepares and brings the rain, and He rains on the just and the unjust. He brings the rain and He makes the grass to grow upon the mountains. And the farmer plants his crops but it's the Lord that makes it alive, and he causes it to grow and gives the farmer a bountiful harvest. He prepares a rain for the earth, and he makes the grass to grow, the flowers to bloom, the birds to sing, the stars to twinkle, and the moon to shine. And the sun, well, who sustains the power of the sun? I mean, it just shines and shines, and it never stops shining, and that, because the Lord sustains all these things. And then it says in verse nine, He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. Indeed thou, O Lord, openest thy hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing. God's not tight-fisted, my friend. No, not at all. God is open-handed, and he feeds the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, and he takes care of the young ravens. And those baby birds, they're in the nest, and the mama bird comes and feeds them. All this is the work of God. Not mother nature, not lady luck, not misfortune, but this is the work of God. You see, my friend, God controls all these things. And the great God of providence provides for his creation, and he sustains it and upholds it by the word of his power. Verse 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse. Now, it's true, God provides the horse, but he doesn't delight in the strength of a horse. Now, we glory in those things, but God doesn't. And God taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. Now, in our day, people are all taken up with athletes, are they not? I mean, they put athletes on a pedestal and they celebrate the strength of a man in whatever sport it may be. But the Lord doesn't take pleasure in the legs of a man or in the strength of a man. Rather, verse 11, the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him and those that hope in his mercy. You see that? The Lord takes pleasure in those that fear him. He takes pleasure in those that hope in his mercy. That's where he takes pleasure. That's where he takes his pleasure. But the speed of a man or the strength of a horse to win a contest? Well, God's not impressed with the might of a horse or the might of a man. None of those things impress the Lord. I mean, bring to mind any athlete you want to. Michael Jordan, perhaps the best player in the NBA, but he didn't do anything to the glory of God. Wayne Gretzky, the best player in the NHL. But to think he was okay with the nickname, The Great One? My friend, God glories not in those mighty horses of chariots. God glories not in those champions among men. Rather, the only man, the only champion that God glories in is in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation. And those united to Him, the Father takes pleasure in His covenant people who have a reverent, godly fear of Him, those that hope in His mercy and not in a It's not in a general or generic way, but rather God's mercy as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved. You see, beloved, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. God takes pleasure in those that fear him, and those who fear him, they believe him. And those who believe him, they trust and hope in his mercy. And beloved, never forget it. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. Beloved, Christ is our hope, and in him we have a good hope of salvation, because God delights to show mercy. And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, hath given us this everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. And the Father repeats this over and over again, both in the Gospels and in the Epistles. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. And beloved, we're well pleased that God is well pleased with His Son, are we not? And those who are in His Son fear Him, hope in Him, and that hope, beloved, is not a maybe hope, it's a sure hope. It's a certain hope. For our hope is in Him who shall not fail, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ in you is the very hope of glory. Verse 12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise thy God, O Zion! And God the Father has said, I've set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. That's Psalm 2, verse 6. Verse 13, for he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee. So where are all spiritual blessings to be found? Where are they to be found? My friend, they're found in Christ. And he's blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ. And the Lord has strengthened the bars of our gates. So just how secure are God's people? Beloved, we're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Beloved, we're behind the gates of his protection. And the Father hath blessed His children within His Son. You see, we're blessed in that city of refuge that He's provided for us in Christ. And we're safe for our great High Priest watches over us. Verse 14. He maketh peace in thy borders. Peace within thy borders. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And it's our Lord Jesus Christ, by the sacrifice of Himself, He maketh peace for us. You see, peace is not made by something we do. Let me repeat that. Peace with God is not made by something we do. And you hear people say that in religious circles all the time. They say, I'm trying to make peace with God. Well, my friend, forget about making peace with God, because you can't do that, and neither can I. There's only one man who's made peace with God, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ, God's well-pleasing Son. You see, a sinner like you and a sinner like me, we can't satisfy the holy and living God. But the Lord Jesus Christ made peace for sinners, and then he fills me with the finest wheat. The Lord Jesus Christ is the bread of heaven. It says there, verse 14, and filleth thee with the finest of wheat. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is the bread of heaven. And so what's the finest of wheat? That speaks of the bread that's come down from heaven itself. He said in John chapter six, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. And truly God has given us his finest, has he not? God so loved that he gave his son the finest wheat, the bread of life. Verse 15, he sent forth his commandment. He's commanded us to go and preach the gospel to every creature. and he will bless what he has commanded, for he's promised to bless his word. He sendeth forth his commandment upon the earth, go and preach the gospel. And he said, my word runs swiftly. And he said in Isaiah 55, it will not return to me void, but it will prosper whereunto I send it, and that as I please. He commands and it stands fast. He speaks and it's done. You see, his word runs swiftly right into the hearts of his people. and his sheep hear his voice. Verse 16. He giveth snow like wool. He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels. Who can stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word and melteth them. He causeth his wind to blow and the waters flow. Beloved by nature, we are cold, hard, and dead, just like a block of ice. And then what does he do? Beloved, he sends forth his word into our heart and he breaks it. And he gives us ears to hear him. He gives us eyes to behold him. And he melts that hard heart and the wind blows upon it. And that's emblematic of God the Holy Spirit, is it not? Remember, he said to Nicodemus, the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit of God. And so God sends His Spirit to the hearts of His people, and the waters flow. And, beloved, He is the water of life, and He commands the waters to flow. You see, this portion in Psalm 147 can be spiritualized. And we see it sets forth the way of conversion and salvation in our own heart. And he causes that water to flow. Remember, he told that woman, the woman of Samaria by the well, he said, if you drink of that water, you'll thirst again. But if you drink of the water that I give you, well, it'll be a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Remember what she said? Lord, give me that water. I want that water, don't you? And the Lord cried out, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Aren't you thankful for the simplicity of the gospel? It doesn't say come to a church. It doesn't say come to some theological position. No, our Lord and God declares ever so blessedly. If any man thirst, if any sinner here this morning thirst, Let him, let her come unto me and drink. The Lord cried out, It is done. On the earth, on the cross of Calvary, He cried out, It is finished. Our salvation was accomplished. And in glory, He cries out the same thing. It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, you're broke, you're naked, you're destitute, you have nothing to commend yourselves into the graces of God's favor. You're invited. Come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Verse 19. Psalm 147, verse 19. He showeth his word unto Jacob. He showeth his word unto Jacob. And he says to the Jacobs of the world, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. He shows us his word and he reveals his word unto us. Now he's hid these things from the wise and prudent, but he's revealed them unto all his babes in Christ. Jacob, I have loved. And he shows his statutes and judgments to his people. You see, beloved, he shows us that our sins have been judged in our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 20. He hath not dwelt so with any nation. He hath not dwelt so with the reprobate, but the redeemed, while God deals with His covenant people in a special way, an intimate way, that He's not dealt so with any other people. We read in Psalm 103 in verse 8, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Beloved, he has not dealt so with any other people as he has dealt with his beloved people. And as for his judgments, As for his just, upright wrath, they have not known them. How come? Because, beloved, his judgments against all our sins have been laid upon his dear Son, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. Our brother records in Romans chapter 8, speaking of the Lord's sheep, of his lambs, of his elect chosen people. He says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in the Lord Jesus Christ. And now what are you going to do? What shall we say to these things? Beloved, if God before us who can be against us, And so, sinner, praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. The Lord God has chosen us by His electing grace, redeemed us by the blood sacrifice of His well-pleasing Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved, God the Father sent His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to represent us as our great High Priest, and He's revealed Himself unto us. And so, praise ye the Lord. Is that not pleasant? Is that not a... Well, that's how our brother began. He said there in Psalm 147, he said, to sing praises unto our God, it's pleasant. And to praise the Lord our God is calmly, it's beautiful. It's beautiful and I would add it's proper. It's the pleasant and proper thing for us to do. Praise the Lord, and my friend, that's what His people delight to do. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake. Amen.